Thursday, April 27, 2017

こんばんは, dreamers! As you can see from my Instagram, I wear black a lot lately and I think I need a black mini dress. A black mini dress is timeless, super easy to mix and match, and it can also be worn to any ocassion. I found a lot of black mini dress and another cute stuff at Rosegal.com so I decided to make a wishlist of my favorite stuff. Scroll on!

I love this embroidery choker so much! It's not your ordinary choker ;p

These are some of my favorites, there are still sooo much of them and I really want them all! You can browse it by yourself from Rosegal.com ;) Pssst, they also provide plus size clothing and I think they have a nice collection!

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Hi, dreamers! I'm writing this from Pontianak, my hometown. There are some long weekends this month in Indonesia, so I decided to visit my grandparents in Pontianak. Actually all I'm doing here is stuffing my face with all the food here, hahaha. I'm planning to write a post about this short escape after I go back to Jakarta, so please stay tuned!

Anyway, here is my airport fashion! I had to go to Depok and Cibubur for shooting yesterday, so it's so hectic and I didn't wash up or change my outfit. Because I don't care ;p I changed my sneakers tho. Jaa ne! See ya on the next post, hopefully soon ;)

Monday, April 17, 2017

Konbanwa! Some of you maybe wait for this post... yes, it's my Japan itinerary! I actually don't really recommend you to go with my itinerary, you will know the reason after you finish reading this lol. I'm not an organized person, my itinerary was not detailed, and in the end I didn't even follow my itinerary, hahaha. Enough of my blabbering, shall we start?

[Day 1] 21 March - Tokyo: Komagome area

Arrived at Narita around 4 or 5 pm, amazed by all little things and ended up spending too much time in airport, lol. I was like, "OMG!!There are A LOT OF gachapon!!!". "OMG!!! Japanese magazine!", "OMG!!! Onigiri!", and the "OMG" goes on.

Didn't go anywhere that night, it was raining and super cold. I stayed at my first guest house at Komagome area and just went out to buy dinner and strolled around the area.

Ride a 7 A.M. shinkansen to go to Osaka from Tokyo. It was such a nice experience for me! That morning was freezing but I was soooo happy you can't even imagine :) Arrived at Osaka around noon and I went to my guest house to put my luggage. After that I went to JR Namba to exhange my Osaka Amazing Pass and started my get-lost-alone journey to find the 100 yen sushi, Kura Sushi.

Next I went to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and ride the ferris wheel too. I passed Umeda Sky Building because of the tight schedule. Last, I went to Dotonbori at night, and it was NOT ENOUGH *cry*

[Day 3] 23 March - Osaka: Osaka Castle; Kyoto

I was supposed to go to Nara after Osaka castle but something unexpected happened. I OVERSLEPT!!! Maybe I was too tired after a long walk on the first day, but I woke up at 9 T.T I ended up enjoying my time at Osaka Castle and sacrifice Nara. Next visit, okay... I went to Kyoto after that and just went to konbini for dinner because surprisingly all of the stores were already closed at 7.....

[Day 4] 24 March - Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama

Now you start to know why I said (maybe) you shouldn't follow my itinerary, hahaha. I just went to 2 places in one day! When the others could visit 3 or 4 places. But I need to tell you that I wanted to enjoy that one place to the fullest, that's why. Hehe.

Fushimi Inari has been my long life dream place to visit and I finally made it happen. I even trekked to the top ;p I actually wanted to visit Kinkakuji but ended up sacrificing it again for me to enjoy Fushimi Inari. After Fushimi Inari, I went to Arashiyama and rented the kimono there.

Another must-visit place: Kiyomizudera. I was super sad because it's on renovation but I also found a reason to come back again, right? :) I didn't spend too much time there and went straight to %Arabica coffee. Rushed to the Nishiki Market and turned out IT'S SO BIG AND HEAVEN FOR SHOPAHOLIC!! Again, spent too much time there and rushed to my new guest house and Kyoto International Manga Museum. Ended my day by going to Gion area, ate ramen and satisfied my matcha parfait craving at Nana's Green Tea.

Arrived at Tokyo and it was raining :( I went to Roppongi Hills to visit Tokyo City View so I could see Tokyo from above (+ Tokyo Tower), but the fog blocked the view *cry* Went to Akihabara at noon for lunch and met my friend there. It was too samui that we decided to leave. We had dinner at Shin-Okuba, a Korea town in Tokyo.

[Day 7] 27 March - Tokyo: Ikebukuro, Harajuku

I was supposed to go to Kawaguchiko to see Mt. Fuji, but it was raining so I wouldn't be able to see mt. Fuji, that's why I decided to cancel it. I still kinda regret it, but I couldn't do anything about the weather, right? Ended up waking up late and went to Ikebukuro to do some shopping- it was a mistake. I SHOPPED A LOT! As if it's not enough, I went to Harajuku- Takeshita Street to stroll around. And I was like...."I really belong here..." HAHAHA. Send my love again to Spinns and Wego!

Visited tsukiji market in the morning and ate a bunch!! It's too crowded with tourist after 9 so I decided to leave and went to Asakusa. It's freakin' crowded and warm! I didn't really enjoy it because all I could see is people. I ate a lot tho, there were a lot of street food stalls there :)) Met my other friend that day and she brought me to the Tokyo Skytree and Shibuya. Another long life dream place checked: Shibuya- Hachiko statue, Shibuya crossing street, and Shibuya 109. FYI, all my obsession over Japan was started because of a manga called "Gals".

[Day 9-10] 29-30 March - Tokyo: Tokyo Disney Sea and Tokyo Disneyland

JUST THE MOST HAPPY TWO DAYS IN MY LIFE!!!! Will tell you more in another post about them ;)

[Day 11] 31 March - Tokyo: Shimokitazawa, day off

I didn't feel well that day and had a cold. Decided to go to Shimokitazawa because I didn't want to waste even one day in Japan. Unfortunately, it was raining and too cold that I couldn't handle it, so after had lunch I decided to go back and move to my new guest house. Didn't have any mood and energy to go anywhere so I spent the night at the guest house.

[Day 12] 1 April - Tokyo: Meguro River, One Piece Tower, Shinjuku

Glad that I decided to go to Meguro River that day because the sakura view WAS BREATHTAKING- even it's not yet full bloom. I won't ever forget the view that day T.T As a big fan of One Piece, the One Piece Tower has been one of my priority in this trip. I really really really enjoyed it, especially the live show T.T Met my friend at Shinjuku, had dinner, and he also showed me around Shinjuku- including the red light area, lol.

It was my birthday and I officially turned 24 in my dream country :) Didn't have my birthday cake and candles tho. My friend accompanied me that day and took all of my photos there HAHAHA. Thanks, Ran! I spent a lot and in the end of the day, I was super worried about my last 4000 yen lol. Can I survive tomorrow? Something like that :)))

[Day 14] 3 April: Tokyo - Jakarta

I really didn't want to leave :( TBH, 2 weeks alone there and I never thought about how I want to go back to Indonesia and stuff, hahaha. I ate my last Matsuya for lunch and strolled around the Ueno area, ate mango soft cream (I MISS THEMMM), went to book store. And....leaving for Narita.

That's all for my 14 days Japan itinerary. It's far from perfect (ikr hahaha) but maybe it can help you to arrange your own better itinerary. In my opinion,it doesn't have to be MORE PLACES to go, but HOW YOU ENJOY a place to the fullest so you will not regret anything ;)What's the point of visiting many places just for taking pics tho?

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Hi again, dreamers! I'm back with outfit post (like finally!). It's actually my outfit for the Chinese New Year, I know this is so late but I hope this post still can be helpful for you :)) I've always been a fan of slip dress + t-shirt/sweater combination, that's why I'm so excited to show you how I wear my black slip dress. It's a little too big and I think I need to bring it to the tailor. Then, shall we start? I have 3 looks for you!

Stepped out of my comfort zone by wearing heels, note that it's not even wedges anymore! Hahaha. Guess what, sneakers is always the best shoes ;p I wore black for CNY, because I (almost) always wear that color rather than red. If you have girly style, you can try this style. Wear a black slip dress (or whatever the color) with a fit body short sleeves sweatshirt (mine is Paul Frank) and strap heels from Bershka. Complete the look with half bun hairdo to make it more fun.

This second look was my #officelook, I wore the black slip dress with a cute watermelon graphic tee from Hush Puppies, pair with my go-to sneakers from New Balance. It's the most comfortable sneakers for daily wear, fyi. I think I didn't wash my hair that day, that's why I put my hair in a bun. Yeah, just pretended to be cute by wearing the gingham headband, lol.

3. Casual look: Stripes tee + strap sandals + bandana

Wore this at the day I chopped my hair short. I just realized that all these looks are including head accessories, which is a simple way to make this black slip dress styling look more stylish. For the last look, I wore a stripess tee with black slip dress (obviously) and gold strap sandals for a casual look. This can be an effortlessly stylish outfit for hanging out with friends or having lunch with family. You can also wear this for a summer holiday.

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This is it! Which one is your favorite look? Tell me how you wear your slip dress in the comment box below! Hope you enjoy this post and I will try to make more contents like this in the future :)) Jaa ne~

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Konnichiwa, dreamers! As I promised (on the instagram), I'm gonna share my preparation for the Japan solo trip. I'm so excited because I CAN FINALLY write about Japan in my blog (which is my ultimate blog goal) and share my experience, tips, great places and food, etc for you guys :))

1. Book the Flight

Yes, obviously a plane ticket. I used Japan Airlines (JAL) for going to Japan, and it's not a promo ticket but the price was okay (IDR 5,7 million). It was actually not really expensive especially for the sakura season. When I paid for the ticket, I felt like crying- not because of the price but it's like...I AM F*CK*NG GOING TO JAPAN!!! I'm thinking about Japan for more than half of my life (lol) and I finally could go there with my own earned money. I suggest you to buy the ticket long before the departure date, it's usually cheaper. You can also try to promo-ticket-hunting at travel fairs, but note that you can never get promo ticket for high season :))

2. Saving Money
One of the reason decided to just buy the plane ticket was for saving money with no choice hahaha. I'm pretty impulsive in buying things so I need a strong reason not to do it :)) I also opened another bank account for the saving. It was quite crazy because I saved more than half of my paycheck + writing fees there, so maybe my friends were tired of hearing my broke-as-hell complain every month ;p

3. Passport and Visa
You can't enter Japan without passport and visa, can you? So, this is another important preparation I made. I actually already had a passport, so I just need to apply for the visa. But when I read the requirements about certain amount on my bank balance, I wasn't sure I could get the visa. That's why I decided to make a new passport, e-passport to be exact. In Indonesia, we can get free visa called waiver visa to Japan as long as we have the e-passport. It costs me around IDR 600.000 to get a new e-passport. After I got my e-passport, I used Dwidaya Tour to help me get the waiver visa (because I'm working on the weekdays) and it costs me IDR 50.000.

4. Itinerary + research
For me, made an itinerary for 14 days was quite a task, hahaha. I did have some places in mind, but dividing them was confusing. In the end I made it, but don't expect a detail one because I'm not a neat and organized person (lol). I will share it to you in my next posts, please be patient and stay tuned :D Note that don't forget to do some research about the place you're going to- the route, time to reach there, transportation, what's special about that place, fee, etc.

5. Book the accomodation

I tried Airbnb at first but changed it to booking.com. It's not that Airbnb not good, but I found it more convenient with booking.com. I booked a room from airbnb but I couldn't know directly if the room was vacant or not, I need to make a request and it's rejected because it turned out the room was already booked. Instead, at booking.com I could see either a room was vacant or not, and the plus point is the free cancellation. Will write the details about my accomodation in another post ;)

6. JR Pass, Disney Sea and Disneyland 2 day pass, etc.

I decided to buy JR Pass for my trip because I would travel from Tokyo-Osaka and Kyoto-Tokyo and it'd worth the price. I bought the 7 day pass although my trip was 14 days because after first week I wouldn't go to another city anymore, so 7 day pass was the best choice. Will tell you more about this one in another post (again, hahaha). I bought JR Pass at a travel fair with a promo price, around IDR 3.15 million. Next, I purchase theme park tickets (Disney Resort 2 day pass, One Piece Tower), Osaka Amazing Pass at klook.com.

7. Wi-Fi router or XL Pass
I was confused to choose wi-fi router or XL Pass. Wi-fi router was quite expensive for 14 days and I was alone so it's kinda a waste. The problem was, I really need the internet connection for maps etc. So my friend offered another option called XL pass; XL is Indonesian network and they offer XL pass to Indonesian traveler, luckily Japan is one of the country that's applied for this pass (softbank). It's half of the price of wi-fi router rental (XL pass: IDR 350.000 + data 16 GB: IDR 90.000 for 30days), but tbh I was kinda doubt the connection quality. In the end I decided to just go for it, turned out the connection was not bad at all. I recommend you to use XL pass when you're traveling abroad, especially when you're alone. If you're going in a group, wi-fi router can be the option because it can be used by 4-5 devices.

8. Clothes

Please check the weather before pack your clothes T.T I brought light clothes because I thought the weather would be 13++ degrees as usual but it was STILL SUPER COLD! Imagine how I survived with those clothes that can be wear in Indonesia's mall weather, lol. It's the first time I felt like crying (literally) because of cold.

9. Everything I need for my trip
Camera, extra memory, tripod (because I'm alone but still want to take a nice pics, lol), power bank (it's a must especially when you depend on the maps), wire-plugs (because the plugs in Japan is different from Indonesia).

Okayyy, I think that's all! Hope this post can help you planning your trip to Japan :D Will share some tips in another post, hopefully soon, so stay tuned! Jaa ne~